A mathematician with high-level security clearance has been granted bail after appearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on multiple sexual offence charges.
Athanasios Johannes Evangelou-Oost, 39, is accused of rape, sexual assault, supplying a drug and common assault.
According to the Courier Mail, he has no prior criminal history and works as a senior mathematician at a defence-linked firm. His lawyer told the court he holds a high-level defence clearance.
“He has an NV1 security level clearance with the Australian Defence Force,” solicitor Mark Stone said.
Police opposed bail, arguing the dual Greek and Australian citizen posed a flight risk.
“These are serious allegations and the defendant’s flight risk is the live issue here,” prosecutor Harry Coburn said.
Magistrate Sheryl Cornack granted bail under strict conditions, including surrendering his passport and staying away from international departure points. The case returns to court on February 20.
Former Greek finance minister and author Yanis Varoufakis has defended his withdrawal from Adelaide Writers’ Week as a necessary stand against censorship, as the controversy deepens with the resignation of the festival’s director and a mass boycott by writers.
Varoufakis pulled out of the festival in protest over the removal of Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah, a decision he said reflected political intimidation rather than genuine concern for community cohesion.
Responding to criticism from a Greek Australian reader who described his decision as “appalling,” Varoufakis rejected claims that Abdel-Fattah had promoted violence or hatred.
“…Randa Abdel-Fattah never called for the elimination of a people,” he wrote. “Had she done so, I too would have refused to share a platform with her at the Adelaide Writers Week or anywhere else for that matter.”
Varoufakis argued that Abdel-Fattah’s remarks had been mischaracterised, likening her critique of Zionism to historical opposition to apartheid.
“Like successive Australian governments were calling for years for the elimination of the South African Apartheid state, Randa wished for an end of the ‘Zionist colony’ in Palestine,” he said, adding that her call was for “equality before the law independently of one’s religion, ethnicity or creed.”
The fallout has intensified today when Louise Adler, director of Adelaide Writers’ Week, resigned in protest. In an open letter published in The Guardian, Adler said the decision to cancel Abdel-Fattah’s appearance was made by the Adelaide Festival Board despite her “strongest opposition.”
More than 180 invited participants have now withdrawn from Writers’ Week, including former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, along with prominent writers and journalists such as Trent Dalton, Peter Greste, Hannah Kent and Evelyn Araluen.
Abdel-Fattah had been scheduled to discuss her novel Discipline, set during Ramadan. The festival board said it was “not culturally sensitive” to proceed with her appearance so soon after the Bondi Beach terror attack in December, while stressing it was not suggesting any connection between her work and the incident.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has backed the board’s decision, citing Abdel-Fattah’s history of anti-Israel and anti-Zionist social media posts.
Varoufakis, however, said the broader implications for free expression were impossible to ignore.
“If you do care about Australian values and institutions, you should be appalled,” he wrote in response to the reader’s letter. “I am glad to have withdrawn from this year’s AWW in a bid to help save it.”
The controversy has reignited debate about artistic freedom, censorship and the growing influence of risk management and commercial considerations on arts programming, as Adelaide Writers’ Week prepares to begin on February 27.
Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, will resign from his post on March 31, stepping down a year earlier than expected, a move that has been commented on by former ambassador Arthur Sinodinos.
Mr Sinodinos told ABC News he was surprised by the timing of Rudd’s resignation, but described his tenure as highly effective.
“He’s been hard working, and so we should congratulate him for his term there and wish him the best,” Mr Sinodinos said.
“It would be great to hear from Kevin about what prompted him to decide to go at this time, a year early.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the decision to step down was Rudd’s own and paid tribute to his role in strengthening Australia–US relations, advancing the AUKUS pact and helping secure the release of Julian Assange in 2024.
“On behalf of our nation, we thank Kevin for his service to Australia and for taking forward Australia’s interest with our closest security ally,” Albanese said.
Rudd’s tenure also spanned a change of US administration following the re-election of Donald Trump in 2024, a period that at times placed strain on the relationship due to Rudd’s past criticisms of Trump.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong described Rudd as an “excellent ambassador,” thanking him for his “tireless contribution” to Australia’s national interests.
Rudd will take up a new role as global president of the Asia Society, also leading its Centre for China Analysis. The government said an announcement on his successor would be made in due course.
The federal government has unveiled tough new hate laws in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment for people who organise or support prescribed hate groups.
Under the proposed reforms, the government would gain new powers to designate hate groups that do not meet existing terrorist thresholds.
Promoting or inciting racial hatred would attract sentences of up to five years, with harsher penalties where children or religious figures are involved.
Albanese also declared a national day of mourning on January 22, with flags flown at half-mast.
“This will have a theme of light… a gathering of unity and remembrance,” he said.
Australia will hold a National Day of Mourning on Thursday 22 January 2026 to honour the victims of the antisemitic Bondi terrorist attack. pic.twitter.com/eiVappGoJi
The legislation focuses on race, ethnicity and national origin, with Jewish Australians protected as an ethno-religious group.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said: “Our focus is on combating antisemitism, and that’s what this package of reforms seek to do.”
The omnibus bill also includes gun reforms, with a proposed national buyback scheme and tighter import and ownership rules. Albanese rejected calls to split the legislation.
“The terrorists at Bondi Beach had hatred in their minds, but guns in their hands, and this bill will get rid of both of those issues,” he said.
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service has issued an extraordinary public denunciation of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, accusing the spiritual leader of destabilising Orthodox Christianity and acting with alleged backing from British intelligence.
In a statement published on its official website, the Foreign Intelligence Service described Patriarch Bartholomew as the “Constantinople Antichrist” and claimed he was seeking to “sow discord” within the Orthodox world by weakening the influence of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The agency alleged that the Ecumenical Patriarch had already “dismembered Orthodox Ukraine” and was now focused on the Baltic states, where it claims he is attempting to replace Russian-aligned Orthodox structures with churches “completely under the control of the Phanar,” the historic seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.
According to the statement, this effort involves encouraging clergy and faithful in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to abandon Moscow-linked jurisdictions.
“Relying on ideological allies in the form of local nationalists and neo-Nazis, he is attempting to tear the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Orthodox Churches away from the Moscow Patriarchate by luring their priests and flocks into the puppet religious structures artificially created by Constantinople,” the statement said.
The SVR further claimed that Patriarch Bartholomew intends to grant autocephaly to the unrecognised Montenegrin Orthodox Church, a move it said would be designed to undermine the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Concluding its remarks, the Russian intelligence agency used overtly theological language to condemn the Patriarch’s actions.
“Church circles note that Bartholomew is literally tearing apart the living body of the Church,” the statement said, likening him to “false prophets… who come in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Greek Australian tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis marked an emotional return to singles competition with a hard-fought first-round victory at the Adelaide International, overcoming injury concerns and a testing opponent in front of a home crowd.
Playing his first singles match since the 2025 Australian Open, Kokkinakis battled past Sebastian Korda 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in a gripping contest lasting more than two and a half hours.
The win followed a difficult year that included major surgery on his pectoral muscle, and at times during the match the 29-year-old required medical attention for discomfort in his shoulder.
Visibly emotional after the match, Kokkinakis reflected on his long road back.
“Oh man. It’s been a rough 12 months, but this makes it all worth it,” he said. “I had my eye on this in Adelaide, and I knew I’d come to a packed crowd and everyone cheering. Thank you so much, I love it here.”
The Adelaide crowd played a key role in driving Kokkinakis through moments of uncertainty, particularly in the second set when physical concerns threatened to derail his comeback. He later admitted the decision to continue was not straightforward.
“I’ve worked so hard to even give myself a chance to get back on this court. Second set I hit a serve and it didn’t feel great. I was talking to my team every two minutes about whether I should stop… Even if I win, at what cost?” he said.
“I don’t know if I can go any further, but I love it here so I’m trying my best.”
The victory was Kokkinakis’ first against Korda after four previous losses and added another memorable moment to his history at Memorial Drive, where he claimed his maiden ATP title in 2022. He will now face fifth seed Valentin Vacherot in the second round.
Elsewhere in Adelaide, Maria Sakkari suffered a first-round exit, with the world No. 52 falling 7-6(7), 6-4 to No. 48 Daria Kasatkina, as the Greek star continues her search for the form that once took her to a career-high ranking of world No. 3.
The Hellenic Australian Lawyers (HAL) is facing growing scrutiny over how its membership rules are being interpreted, following a National Committee decision that has significant implications for voting rights, committee eligibility, and leadership elections within the organisation.
At the heart of the issue is a long-standing distinction in HAL’s Rules between ordinary members, who are entitled to vote and stand for office, and associate members, who may participate in activities of the Association but are excluded from formal decision-making.
What the dispute is about
The uncertainty centres on the interaction between two provisions of HAL’s constitution.
Rule 8 restricts ordinary membership to individuals who are “admitted to practise law in an Australian jurisdiction.” However, the rule does not clarify whether this refers solely to formal admission to the legal profession, or whether it also requires a current practising certificate.
Rule 14, meanwhile, lists several categories – including judges, judges’ associates, patent and trade mark attorneys, and professional law teachers – as associate members, without explaining how that classification applies where a person in one of those categories is also admitted to practice law in Australia.
The core question has therefore been whether Australian-admitted lawyers who fall within a Rule 14 category should retain ordinary membership rights, or whether their occupational role automatically places them in the associate category.
On 17 December 2025, the HAL National Committee adopted an interpretation resolving this uncertainty. Under the Committee’s interpretation, ordinary membership now requires both admission to practise in the Australian legal profession and a current practising certificate. In addition, anyone who falls within a Rule 14 category is classified as an associate member regardless of their admission status or professional experience.
Why the decision drew attention
The timing and practical effect of the resolution attracted immediate attention because it directly affected Peter Tantalos, the long-serving South Australian Chapter Chair and member of the National Committee.
(L-R) Dimitrios Vervesos (President of the Plenary of Greek Bar Associations), Peter Tantalos (HAL – SA Chapter Chair), George Zapantis (Chairman Hellenic Lawyers of New York), Joseph Tsalanidis (President – HAL).
Tantalos has served as SA Chair for four years and is widely credited with transforming the Chapter into HAL’s most active nationally. During his tenure, the South Australian Chapter delivered more events and initiatives than all other State and Territory chapters combined, strengthened partnerships with peak professional bodies, and prioritised youth engagement and succession within the profession.
He also played a central role in steering the Chapter through the COVID-19 period, maintaining consistent programming and expanding membership at a time when many professional organisations experienced contraction. Among the Chapter’s flagship initiatives was the annual John Perry AO KC Oration, which has featured senior judicial figures from Australia’s highest courts and has become a nationally recognised event within HAL’s calendar.
SA John Perry AO QC Oration w. the Hon. Justice Beech-Jones.Presidential Guard at John Perry AO QC Oration.
Beyond South Australia, Tantalos was a key organiser of the Global Summit of Hellenic Lawyers, the first international gathering of its kind, working closely with counterpart organisations in Greece, the United States and Cyprus to establish ongoing global cooperation within the Hellenic legal diaspora.
Despite being admitted to practice law, Tantalos currently works as a judge’s associate, placing him within a Rule 14 category. Under the Committee’s interpretation, this means he would be deemed an associate member and therefore would be excluded from voting, standing for national office and remaining as SA Chapter Chair.
The decision was made less than one day before nominations opened for HAL’s upcoming elections. Tantalos had been widely regarded as the sole potential challenger to the incumbent national president, Joseph Tsalanidis, who has held the role and chaired the Committee since 2020.
While the interpretation applies nationally, it is understood that Tantalos is the only current Committee member directly affected by the ruling.
Broader implications for the Association
Following the Committee’s decision, Tantalos said that he “deeply appreciated the trust” HAL had placed in him and described the initiatives and events delivered in SA during his tenure as a “testament to the trust and support of HAL members and the SA Committee,” and said it was “an honour” to serve the SA Chapter over the past four years.
Hellenic and Philhellenic lawyers delegation at the first Global Summit, which Tantalos played a key role in.
While the long-term impacts remain unclear, the interpretation could have the effect that solicitors or long-term legal practitioners – who are admitted to practice law and hold a valid practising certificate – are rendered ineligible to hold membership with voting rights if they fall within particular categories, irrespective of their years of practice or professional experience. This includes judges, judges’ associates, patent or trademark attorneys, and professional law teachers.
Furthermore, it may conflict with one of HAL’s longstanding aims of encouraging the rise of young lawyers, associates, and junior practitioners by limiting their opportunities to participate in, and contribute to, the future direction of the Association.
Speaking to The Greek Herald, Tantalos said he was disappointed by the decision and that he disagreed with the Committee’s interpretation – expressing his concern that it could contribute to the trend of declining membership, exacerbate internal administrative inefficiencies, and run counter to the Association’s stated commitment to growth, member engagement, and future renewal. He added that Committee decisions should always be guided by the objects and mission of the Association.
Looking forward into 2026, the interpretation creates uncertainty into HAL’s current leadership and, in particular, casts a cloud on HAL’s participation in the 2027 Global Summit. The AGM is scheduled for Friday, 27 February 2026.
The 2026 Epiphany Festival for the Canberra District was marked by a historic celebration on Saturday, January 10, with Greek Orthodox faithful gathering in large numbers at Batemans Bay on the NSW South Coast.
Hundreds of worshippers travelled from Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and across the South Coast to attend the annual Epiphany service, which saw local teenagers dive into the waters to retrieve the Holy Cross – a centrepiece of the Feast of Epiphany, also known as Theofania.
The day began with a Divine Liturgy at St John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, led by His Grace Bishop Athinagoras of Canberra. He was assisted by Father Savas Pizanias from St Savas of Kalymnos Parish in Sydney and Father Platon Derlis from the Parish of St George in Shepparton, Victoria.
Following the liturgy, the faithful made their way to Clyde Wharf, where families gathered along the foreshore for the traditional Blessing of the Waters ceremony, commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.
The highlight of the day was the dive for the Holy Cross, which was retrieved by 15-year-old Julian Pilavakis from Canberra, who was holidaying in Batemans Bay with his family. He was joined in the waters by fellow Canberra youths Sideri Pashalidis, 13, Vassili Londos, 14, and Andrew Haridemos, 14.
Among those present were Stef Pashalidis, President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Batemans Bay, as well as major benefactors John and Angelo Liangis, who were acknowledged for their ongoing contributions to the local community.
Following the ceremony, the Greek Orthodox Community of Batemans Bay hosted a barbecue lunch at the church hall, providing a warm and festive atmosphere for attendees. Bishop Athinagoras also cut the traditional Vasilopita for 2026.
With temperatures reaching 41 degrees, Batemans Bay’s beaches were bustling throughout the afternoon as locals and visitors alike embraced the summer conditions, bringing the Epiphany celebrations to a joyful close.
The event was widely described by participants as a blessed and memorable day for the community.
The Greek Orthodox Community and Church of Canberra and Districts hosted the annual Epiphany service in the nation’s capital on Sunday, January 11, with celebrations held at Casuarina Sands.
The service was attended by a large gathering of faithful and was led by His Grace Bishop Athinagoras of Canberra, alongside Father Petros of St Nicholas Church in Canberra and Father Alexandros of St Demetrios Church in Queanbeyan.
Following the Blessing of the Waters ceremony, attendees remained on site to share food and spend time with family and friends, creating a strong sense of community and fellowship.
A highlight of the day was the traditional dive for the Holy Cross, which was retrieved by Panos Morogiannis. Two other young men also took part in the dive, continuing a long-standing Orthodox tradition.
Reflecting on the moment, Morogiannis described the day as deeply meaningful, saying the opportunity to dive for the cross strengthened his devotion and connection to his faith.
“As His Grace Bishop Athinagoras wisely announced to the young men who dove, ‘today you do not dive simply to win the cross, but to strengthen your relationship with Christ and our faith through this courageous act.’ This is what the act of getting the cross means to me,” Morogiannis said.
Morogiannis added that retrieving the cross symbolised a lifelong journey of faith, courage and devotion within Canberra’s strong Orthodox community.
The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) has taken over the management of the Central Coast Mariners on an interim basis, after the club’s existing operator – long-time chairman Mike Charlesworth – notified the league that it was forfeiting the Club Participation Agreement (CPA), prompting the APL to formally terminate the agreement and initiate a league-run sales process.
The development comes amid heightened scrutiny over the Mariners’ ownership, followingThe Greek Herald’s earlier reporting that a formal application had been submitted to the APL for former Sydney Olympic FC President Damon Hanlin to acquire the club.
In a statement released on Tuesday, January 12, the APL confirmed that it had taken proactive action after being notified by the club’s operator of the forfeiture of the CPA, moving to ensure stability and continuity for the Mariners during the 2025–26 season.
“The APL Board is resolute in its commitment to fans and stakeholders to protect the game’s best interests,” APL Chair Stephen Conroy said.
“As custodians of the game, we believe it is the best course of proactive action – for the short and long-term interest of the Club – to terminate the current CPA under the current ownership, and run an expedited and robust sale process to find a new and stable long-term owner for the Mariners.”
Sale process places Hanlin bid under direct APL oversight
While the APL has not commented on individual bidders, the decision to assume interim control and oversee the sale process reshapes the pathway for any prospective ownership change – including the application involving Mr Hanlin.
As previously reported by The Greek Herald, Mr Hanlin recently resigned as President and Director of Sydney Olympic FC, before stepping into senior roles across newly formed Mariners-linked entities. In September 2025, he was appointed director, secretary and sole shareholder of Central Coast Mariners Football Club Pty Ltd, followed by an appointment the following month as director and secretary of Central Coast Mariners Football Club Foundation Limited.
Those appointments, alongside his continued involvement in Sydney Olympic-related corporate entities, were expected to be examined under the APL’s ownership and integrity framework – a process that now takes on increased significance with the league directly controlling the club and the sale.
Under A-League governance rules, any ownership transfer is subject to rigorous assessment, including financial capacity, transparency, integrity checks and conflict-of-interest management.
Continuity assured as sale proceeds
The APL said its immediate focus would be to ensure the club’s ongoing obligations are met and that football operations continue uninterrupted while the sales process is underway.
There will be no changes to upcoming fixtures, with the Mariners set to face Macarthur FC at home in the Isuzu UTE A-League Men, and Perth Glory in the Ninja A-League Women at polytec Stadium this weekend.
The club’s management has indicated it will work with the APL to support the transition and forthcoming sale.
Ownership decision still pending
The APL has not provided a timeframe for completing the sale process, nor confirmed how existing applications will be treated.
However, with the league now acting as interim operator, custodian and seller, any ownership outcome – including one involving Mr Hanlin – will be determined under direct APL control and heightened regulatory oversight.
The Greek Herald will continue to follow developments as the Mariners’ ownership future unfolds.
*The Greek Herald has contacted the APL for comment
